Saints' Jackson tosses no-hitter

DUDLEY -- Southern Wayne used a pair of big innings and a brilliant pitching performance to beat Greene Central 10-0 in five innings on Thursday night.

Jackson Hayes delivered a near-perfect outing on the mound and finished with a five-inning no-hitter for the Saints. Hayes allowed one walk and one additional Ram batter reached on an error.

"Jackson was really, really sharp tonight," Southern Wayne head coach Trae McKee said. "He used his change-up effectively and made some pitches in big spots. Most importantly, he was in and around the strike zone all night."

Southern Wayne took the lead in the second inning.

Taylor Raynor was hit by a pitch, and moved into scoring position on back-to-back singles from Jacob Hollingsworth and Cody Wendorf. Garrett Whitfield delivered a two-run single and Kevin Williams added an RBI base hit to cap the four-run rally.

"Garrett's hit was at a big point in the game," McKee said. "He got a good pitch early in the count and plated two runs with two outs."

The Saints (2-1 overall) put the game out of reach with a six-run fourth inning.

Base hits by Nathan Barwick and Thomas Kelly were separated by a walk and a pair of Ram errors. Raynor plated a run with a fielder's choice, Barwick scored on a wild pitch and Hollingsworth capped the rally with a bases-clearing double that plated three runners.

"Jacob was patient at the plate and his at-bats were all good at-bats," McKee said.

All of the offense was more than enough for Hayes, who made short work of the Rams' lineup. Chad Murphy drew a two-out walk in the first inning and Austin Mooring reached when a ball to the outfield went in and out of a defender's glove for an error in the third.